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MedPage Today is collecting stories of HHS staffers across all agencies affected by Trump administration cuts. If you want to share your story, please email MPT_Editorial@everydayhealth.com or contact Kristina Fiore, director of enterprise and investigative reporting, on Signal at KristinaMedPage.64.
A federal judge ruled that the mass firings of federal probationary employees — which affected thousands across CDC, FDA, and NIH — were likely unlawful and should be rescinded. (AP)
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is struggling to rehire fired employees who were working on the H5N1 outbreak. (Politico)
Amid reports of more planned firings, federal workers may receive another email this weekend asking them to explain what they did this week. It could require a response this time. (Washington Post)
Need healthcare? Show us your Social Security card. (Politico)
Experts expressed concern that the Trump administration failed to strongly endorse vaccines amid the Texas measles outbreak. (STAT)
Effectiveness of this season’s flu shot against flu hospitalizations reached 63-78% in kids and 41-55% in adults, early estimates from CDC determined.
And preliminary CDC data showed the COVID vaccine was 33% effective against COVID-related outpatient visits among adults and 45-46% effective against hospitalizations in seniors.
The World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled its recommendations for the northern hemisphere’s fall flu vaccine composition.
WHO also has new standards to prevent hearing loss in gamers.
Medication abortion accounts for the majority of abortions provided in most states without total abortion bans, according to state-level data from the Guttmacher Institute.
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding for some 5,800 programs — everything from HIV, polio, to malaria — has officially ended. (New York Times)
Meanwhile, two reports on the dire consequences of the federal aid freeze have been kept secret by the USAID watchdog for fear of retaliation from the White House. (Washington Post)
And two former USAID officials challenged Elon Musk’s claim that efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak were restored. (New York Times)
An investigation in the source of unknown illness in the Congo — which killed more than 50 people in recent weeks — found malaria in half the samples, the WHO said. Further tests will check for meningitis.
The Trump administration is reconsidering a $590 million human bird flu vaccine contract with Moderna. (The Hill)
Over 40% of Americans worry their career would be negatively impacted if they discussed mental health concerns at work, a National Association of Mental Illness-Ipsos survey found.
Doctors say Pope Francis has overcome the most critical phase of his illness. (AP)
As Congress considers massive cuts to Medicaid, House speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) ruled out two of the biggest ways to capture savings. (Politico)
State Medicaid work requirements have resulted in people losing coverage but without gains in employment. (Roll Call)
The oldest Holocaust survivor, Rose Girone, died at 113. (New York Times)
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